Pokemon 1600s
by Kellnoa's Sorrow
Summary: Theo has his first encounter with Pokemon, and danger may be following.
1. A New Trainer

**Pokémon 1600s**  
By BlastSage __  
  
  
Chapter 1: Port Vermillion - A New Trainer  
  
"Theo!" screamed a sailor. "Theo! Get over here, now! The captain needs a word with ya!" Nearly instantly, a boy came up from below deck. Theo Rayford was 15 years of age, but looked many years older than he was. He had messy black hair which he rarely kept under tame. His eyes were gray, almost looking like steel, and that could see through anything. He was wearing white pants and a black and white striped shirt. Theo was medium heightened, but strongly built considering all his years working on the wooden ship the_ Indigo Plateau_. He had been with the ship and crew since he was seven. Before them, he had an easy life with his rich parents. Unfortunatly, they were killed in a destructive attack from a mysterious group of pirates, which he could only remember them by the "R" on them. So the captain, who was also his uncle, adopted him into the crew, and since then, Theo had been working for him. But to him, the captain was his father, and the captain had always treated him like a son.

Theo rushed up from below deck and ran up to the front of the ship, where Captain (or uncle) Rayford stood. Theo looked where his uncle stared and saw a faint speck of land in the distance. "What is that place, Uncle Rayford?"

His uncle responded by saying "Over there, Theo, is a new land that was just charted, even though people already live there. It is a whole continent, and that peice over there is Port Vermillion. But we won't be able to dock there until tomorrow morning." He sighed, then continued. "There have also been strange rumors started up at that place that drives some businesses away."

"What kind of rumors?" Theo asked.

"Some good, some bad. A fellow friend who had traveled here said that there are strange beasts, beasts no other part of the world has. Rumor has it that they are spreading out through the world. The name of these creatures, he said, are known as Pokémon. Strange name, isn't it?" Theo nodded. "Anyway, you better go back to your bunk and get a good night's sleep. You already did enough chores for the day, and we won't get off this blasted ship for a few hours. So prepare for tomorrow, young man." He pushed Theo away, and Theo headed straight for his bunk. He thought about the new land, and about Port Vermillion along the way. But what interested him most was about the new animals called Pokémon.

"_I wonder what they are like_" he thought as he slipped into his hard wooden bed. "_Are they fierce monsters, or cute creatures?_" He thought about this as he slipped into his dreamworld. In it, he dreamed about what the possibilities of what Pokémon looked like...

"Theo," Captain Rayford whispered while he shook Theo to wake him up. "Theo, time to get off the ship. We are at Port Vermillion.

Theo sat up straight when he heard this. Finally, he would get to find out what Pokémon were. Theo put on his only good clothes he had that were the least bit formal and walked to the top deck. He ran over to the rails, and overlooked a vast seaside city. The _Indigo Plateau_ wasn't the only ship in port. There were many more. He looked over all the people scuttling about when he noticed a huge, HUGE difference. A pile of rocks, big gray boulders, were piled in the middle of a street. But the strangest part about the pile was that it had eyes. And it was _moving_!

"Oooooonix," it roared, and it turned to face straight at Theo. Theo half jumped, half stumbled backwards, from the roar and fell onto the floor of the ship. He was staring as the rock snake slithered away. Walking very cautiously, he walked off the ship, only to noticed many more Pokémon. There was a creature with four arms lifting up 2 boxes on each arm with ease, a giant jellyfish swimming nearby, a huge, brown bird transporting humans between ships, and many more. Theo thought he was dreaming when he saw all this.

Theo's uncle summoned him over. "Well lad, this may take a while to unload, maybe a two or three day stay in Port Vermillion. Why don't you go and blend in with the civilization here." He looked over at the Machamp carrying the boxes. "I think I will explore some of these creatures for myself." He walked off, leavng Theo all alone. So having nothing to do, he started walking down the pier, admiring all the Pokémon helping others with their work.

"_I wish I had one to help with my chores_" he wondered. "_It would make life a whole lot easier..._" He snapped back from his thoughts as he realized that he had wandered into a crowd of people watching something. He could here whispers among them about "battling" and "attacking" and "who was going to win". Theo hurried to the front of the crowd expecting to see a big fight, but faced something better. Two trainers were facing each other, shouting out strange commands to their Pokémon. The one the crowd was shouting for was a guy named Tom. He had a turtle with fins on its ears and a fluffy white tail.

Tom shouted "Wartortle, Water Gun!" The Wartortle opened its mouth and shot a straight stream of water at the other trainer's fire Lizard. As the water hit it, the lizard, which the trainer called Charmeleon became dizzy, and fell. Everyone cheered as Tom took out a small red and white ball. Theo thought he was about to play with Wartortle until Tom recalled his Pokémon. Tom then collected a bag of money and started to walk Theo's way.

As soon as Tom was out of the crowd, Theo ran up to Tom to get more information about Pokémon. "Hey, you! Tom!"

Tom stopped where he was and turned around to see a boy running toward him. "Yeah, what do you want, kid?"

"Tom," Theo panted. "That was an amazing victory." Tom nodded as Theo continued. "But what I want to know is, how did you get a...a...a Pokémon?"

Tom stared at Theo for a while. "You must be new here, right?" Theo motioned for a yes. "Well, I guess you can get your first Pokémon in the bushy areas around Vermillion City. To catch one, you'll need this." Tom tossed the kid a pokéball, which he caught. "But I don't know how you will make it weak without a Pokémon. Your on your own, kid." Tom turned around and continued walking his way.

"I guess I'll go toward the bushy areas," Theo said to himself when he realized it was noon already. His stomach growled. "After I get some lunch."

After his lunch, Theo began searching in the eastern forest for a Pokémon to catch. "Here Pokémon. Come out, come out where ever you are." he kept chanting as he waved a little of his saved lunch in the air. He continued doing this for ten, twenty minutes, but without success. He started to go downhill, and as he did, he started to complain to no one in particular. "Why am I here anyway?" he asked angrily. "There is probably nothing here anyway. All I am just doing," Theo stretched his arms out and yawned, "is wasting my time." Theo's speech became slower and slower. "I should...be heading...off for the..." He layed down under a tree and began to doze off. "ship." There he slept, unaware of a shrouded figure eating the food out of his hand.

When he awoke, he was surprised to see the figure resting at his feet. In fact, he was so surprised, he stood up very quickly, forgetting that he was at an angle, and so started to fall down the hill. "Eeeeaaaaaaiiiiii!" he yelped as he hit branches, rocks, and clumps of dirt on his way down. He screamed for help as he scrambled to try to stop himself, but none came. The figure that slept near Theo automatically woke up from the screaming for help. It looked to the side and saw a teenage boy falling downhill. It lived in this area, so he knew that up ahead stood a cliff that led to a rocky beach. It hesitated for a moment, then decided that he could save the boy for the food he had eaten. So he pulled his tattered blue cloak close to his body and began to run downhill.

Theo looked up ahead through the whirls of brown, green, red, and yellow as he reached out for something to hold. All of a sudden, he felt a root brush his fingertips, and wishing to grab it, closed his hand as tightly as possible. He was lucky as he felt his arm being jerked. Theo could finally look around, and panicked when he saw nothing but air after the ground ended a few feet behind him. "Now I'm safe," he said to himself, thinking the danger was over. He was wrong. The root started to give way, and Theo was losing his grip from the wet surface. "Help!" he yelled.

The figure finally reached the boy, only to discover that he got there the second Theo began to fall. He could hear the scream getting fainter and fainter. He began to think about his last decision he had made.

Meanwhile, Theo was 50...55...40 feet away from the jagged rocks below, reaching out is if to try and grab him. "_I'm going to die a bloody death at a young age_" Theo thought. He closed his eyes and waited for the rocks to tear his flesh and wash him out to sea.

The stranger's mind was made up. "HYP-NO!" screamed the Pokémon as he spread his arms out wide, swinging his pendulum furiously back and forth. His cloak was blown away by the surge of energy being gathered. Hypno and Theo were both glowing an eerie blue as Hypno's Confusion attack was activated.

Theo felt energy flowing through him at the last second and felt himself getting lighter as he floated toward the top of the cliff. He collapsed from the fear he had when he reached the ground, and fought to regain his breath. It took a few minutes, but as soon as he was calm again, he saw the Pokémon that had rescued him clearly for the first time: a Hypno. It was going around the bushes, searching for the cloak it had dropped. It was a very dark yellow, sort of tinted like. Theo attempted to try and thank Hypno. " Uh...hi, Hypno. Thanks for...saving my life," he said, his mind a complete blank. The Hypno acknowledged the thank you with a "hypno" as he found his cloak. As soon as he put it on, he started to back away from Theo.

"Don't go yet," Theo pleaded. He rummaged through his sack he had strapped to his shoulder, and took out the rest of his saved lunch. He let it out for the Hypno to eat. The Pokémon gladly accepted the food as Theo gently but carefully tried to take off the cloak. The Hypno jumped away from his hands and ran off into the forest. "Hey!" Theo yelled, but it was nowhere to be seen. Theo sighed, then looked at the sunset over the cliff. He realized the time. "Whoa, I got to get back to the ship before Uncle Rayford begins to worry." So he picked up his things and left the spot.

Theo got back to the _Indigo Plateau_ late after dark. He walked up to the top deck and searched for his uncle through the crowd of people taking a tour of the ship. He saw his uncle near the front of the ship, giving out orders for unloading the ship for the day. He walked over to Captain Rayford.

"Hey, Theo, my boy? Haven't seen you all day. Been explorin' the land, haven't you?"

"Yeah, I have. It was kind of boring if you ask me, though," he replied, remembering to leave out the part about falling over the cliff.

"Yes," the captain replied, looking over Theo's shoulder. "It must have been boring indeed. By the way, who is your friend?" Theo looked over his shoulder to see the cloaked Hypno standing behind him, looking down as to hide his face.

"Hypno!" Theo greeted his new friend, who stepped back one step. "I guess we're not that much of friends yet." He said.

Well, you might as well get dinner and get to bed, it is starting to get really late, and we have another day's work to do."So Theo, followed by Hypno, went to the dining room for dinner, where Hypno ate everything in sight as quickly as possible. Half an hour later, Theo was ready for bed. But Hypno was nowhere to be seen. "He must have found his own place to sleep for the night," Theo guessed as he closed his eyes and fell asleep, tired from the day's events.

Just below his bed lay Hypno, who was wondering about the boy that slept above him. This boy was different from all the other humans it had met in its life. All humans, he thought, where drunken, gambling, older humans, who were abusive to their Pokémon. That was the way he was raised as a Drowzee. But he had never met a young human. He liked it.

Hypno looked around for a place to sleep. He spotted the red and white Pokéball lying on the floor. He went near it, picked it up, and pressed the little white button on the front. He was sucked into the ball's void in a brilliant flash of red. Then all was silent.


	2. The Double Duels

**Pokémon 1600s**  
By BlastSage  
  
  
Chapter 2: Port Vermillion - The Double Duels  
  
Theo woke up a little earlier than usual. He opened his eyes as he stared at the empty amber bunk bed above him, feeling that he had had a strange dream. He had dreamed that the ship had encountered a land filled with Pokémon, and that he had met a Hypno, and had nearly fallen off a cliff.

"That was the strangest dream I had ever had," he whispered to himself as he tried to get out of bed. But when he moved, he found that his body felt weak from the adrenaline rush that he had gotten the day before. "Uhg. So it wasn't a dream. But if I met that Hypno, where is he now?" Theo forced himself to stand up, and after a few morning exercises, he was starting to regain his stregnth. As soon as he felt normal again, he started searching for Hypno. He searched his whole room, only to turn up nothing. "Where are you?" he said out loud, waiting for a response. He had no clue where to search when the ship rocked to the side, rolling the pokéball out to Theo's feet. He looked down as the ball bumbed into his foot, and the pokéball burst open as a white light revealed Hypno, rubbing the sleep from its eyes.

"Hypno?" he asked, looking up at Theo. It remembered what had happened.

"Well, there you are Hypno. I was starting to think that you ran off." Theo was about to pick up the pokéball and recall Hypno when Hypno recalled itself to the pokéball, then used its psychic powers to make the pokéball fly into his hands. "Cool," he said as he got dressed for the day, then released Hypno as they went to the breakfast hall to see his uncle.

Theo had walked into the breakfast hall, only to see about one person still there. "_I guess they had to get up early to do more work," _he thought as he found a seat at the far side of the table. Hypno sat across from Theo, keeping his head low. The ship cook, Darwis, placed a plate of food in front of Theo, then went back into the kitchen when he saw Hypno seated at the table. As soon as Darwis came back, he gave specific intsrtuctions from Captain Rayford for Theo to help do the dishes after he had finished his breakfast.

Theo groaned. He hated doing the dishes, one reason being that there were so many dishes for so many people, and the second being that they left a lot of grime on the surfaces. So he ate his meal very slowly.

Hypno on the other hand was eating faster than Theo. He had been without food for days before he spotted Theo walking with food out in the open. Hypno was the one that put Theo to sleep. He was lucky to be around the area at the time, or he would have died of starvation, he thought. Hypno sank into his own thoughts as the two finished breakfast and began with the chores.

Theo and Hypno walked the streets of Port Vermillion after doing Theo's chores. It had been easy for Theo to do the dishes, since Hypno used his psychic powers to speed up the process when he got bored. So they had alot of free time on their hands. So they both agreed that they would take a walk around town together, looking for excitemnet. They didn't wander to far when a young trainer asked them for a duel. He had whitish blond hair, and wore a white shirt with a red vest and white pants. He was smiling.

"Hey you, the kid with the Hypno. Want to battle?"

Theo thought this over, then answered yes to the kid's question. The kid introduced himself as Tass, then led Theo and Hypno to a small area just up ahead. There was a small clearing in the street. It was a public arena; it had been the same area that Tom had battled the day before. Tass indicated for Theo to go to the farthest end of arena, which Theo did. A small crowd began to gather, whispering and making inconspicuos bets on who would win.

"This will be a two on two Pokémon match. Are you ready?" asked Tass.

"I only have one pokémon," replied Theo, reffering to Hypno.

"Fine then, Tass sighed. "It will be a one on one match, Sudden Death. Ready?" Theo nodded yes. "Then let's begin. I select Bellsprout! Go!" Tass tossed his pokéball into the air. The pokéball glinted in the sun for a split second as it popped open, throwing out a beam that reconstructed Bellsprout's thin, wirey body. It gave out its weak cry, then stood firmly for the trainer's attack.

"Hypno, go get that Bellsprout!" Hypno walked up to the battling area, twisting his pendulum around its hand.

"Bellsprout, Vine Whip attack, now!" Bellsprout gave a simple hoot and lifted up its rooted foot, and slammed it down on Hypno's arm. A long, thin red line could be seen running down his arm. Hypno grabbed at his arm at the stinging mark of pain.

The crowd whispered what would happen next. It wasn't until he heard them talking about what he was going to attack with when Theo realized his mistake. "_I don't know any of Hypno's attacks!_" he thought. "_What should I do?_" He began to feel as though he would automatically lose and nearly called off the battle when a word simply flashed into his head from nowhere. _Pound_. Theo thought it wierd that the word came up, but he said it out loud anyway. "Hypno, Pound attack!" Hypno swung his pendulum around Bellsprout's roots, stopping another whipping, and swung Bellsprout over his head to smash into the ground behind him.

"Bellsprout. Get up and Wrap him. _Wrap Him!_" Tass was screaming out attacks, wanting Bellsprout to desperatly win. Bellsprout could sense this, and quickly propelled its vines toward the Hypno's throat. Hypno would have then been strangled, had it not been for his cloak to block the vine. "No fair, you can't use objects like cloaks in a battle."

"I'm not in control of that," Theo said as another attack popped into his head. _Disable_. Theo shouted out the attack. Hypno nearly completed the attack when Bellsprout caught him by surprise with two razor sharp leaves. They sped toward Hypno and slashed him over and over again. "Hypno! Get out of there now!" Theo screamed. He turned toward Tass who was smiling smugly over another possible defeat. "I qu-"

Hypno put up a hand to signal Theo to stop. Hypno was angry at how this Pokémon was making him look wimpy, and how he was going to lose his friend's first battle. He wouldn't let that happen. Hypno slowly closed his eyes and concentrated hard on his opponent.

Meanwhile, Bellsprout looked at Hypno quizzically. He was just standing there, vulnerable to any attack. "Don't just stand there," commanded Tass. "Vine Whip, now!" Bellsprout lifted up its longest vine and brought it down when...

Bellsprout froze. "What's going on?" whispered the crowd. "That Pokémon should of won by now."

Tass was wondering the same thing. "Finish him, now!"

Hypno lifted up his head, his eyes glowing a horrible shade of blue. Tass' Bellsprout seemed to be in trouble as it rose into the air. Hypno began breathing deeply as he began to compress Bellsprout's body. Crunching noises could be heard as Bellsprout was repeatedly slammed into the ground bell-first. Bellsprout was knocked unconscious soon afterward, and Hypno began to calm down and start tending to his injuries.

The crowd went cheering over the battle, which they thought was pretty intense. Tass recalled Bellsprout, then stuck out his hand and shook Theo's hand as he handed him a bag of money. "Great battle we had," he complemented.

"Jeez, thanks. Nice to battle you too. By the way, where did you get your pokémon. It was very strong."

"Thanks. I caught Bellsprout in a forest a few miles from here. If you want, I'll take you there, as long as I get to the Pokémon Center first."

"Sure. I need to make a stop there for Hypno." So Tass, Theo, and Hypno headed for the Pokémon Center.

"So, how long have you been training your Pokémon?" Theo asked. Theo and Tass were walking into a thick forest, thriving with flora and fauna. This forest was home to dozens of Grass, Bug, and Poison types of Pokémon.

"I have been training for about a year now. I caught Bellsprout here a month ago, but my first Pokémon was this Pokémon. But it evolved. " Tass threw out a pokéball, and out came a large green creature on four legs. From its back grew a bud of a flower which looked as if it would bloom any second. It looked up at Tass with an "Ivy?", then looked over at Theo. It snorted an "Ivysaur", then began to lay down. "Ivysaur can be a little lazy sometimes, but he is really faithful and my best friend."

"That's awesome," Theo replied. "I only started training yeasterday, and I guess Hypno is my first Pokémon and my best friend. He also saved my life." Theo looked back at Hypno, who was walking a little ways behind the group, thinking its own thoughts. "He's also possesses a very mysterious nature."

"Ivy, ivy saur," chanted, silencing the two. It extended two long vines toward the trunk of a tree and began to shake it. It took about five shakes before something green fell out from the cover of the tree. It hit the ground with a hard thud. But it quickly got up and faced its attackers. "What is that thing?"

"It's a Bulbasaur. Ivysaur is Bulbasaur's evolution, and Ivysaur evolves into Venusaur. They are very rare in this forest. Do you want this one as your grass Pokémon?"

"Sure! This is going to be an great pokémon!" Theo exclaimed as he called Hypno over. Theo stood on his knee to talk to Hypno face to face. "Hypno, I need you to help me capture that Bulbasaur over there. Will you help me?" Hypno nodded his head yes. "Thanks alot. Now, do Pound attack." Hypno jumped in front of the Bulbasaur and repeatedly bashed it on the head with his pendulum.

"Bulb bulb bulb, Bulbasaur!" screamed Bulbasaur as it extended its own vines to whip Hypno. But Hypno was already prepared from experience, so instead he jumped up just barely missing the vines, and gave Bulbasaur a Headbutt from the air. This dazed Bulbasaur a bit, but it didn't give up. It popped out a seed which flew through the air and landed on Hypno's nose, where it sprouted and covered Hypno from head to toe in vines. They started glowing as electricity jumped, crackeled, glowed, absorbed, and transferred Hypno's energy to Bulbasaur. Enough was taken to stun Hypno, and while Theo tried to cut the vines off of Hypno, Bulbasaur got away.

"Darn it!" Theo cursed at his loss, but didn't hold Hypno responsible. "You gave it your best try," he said to his pokémon when he awoke. "Thanks, friend."

"Sorry about Bulbasaur getting away. He would have made a pretty good ally. Very powerful one, too." Tass supported. 

"Thanks. I just wish that I could get a grass type." Just as he spoke those words, a Bellsprout appeared, looking very curious as to what was going on. "Looks like I spoke to soon." Theo looked over to Hypno. "Do you still feel up for a battle?" Hypno nodded a confused yes, then slowly got to his feet. "Ok then. Hypno, use Confusion and Disable!"

Bellsprout froze in place as it was thrown up into the trees and down into the forest ground. "Bell sprout, bell sprout," it whined as it went up and down. By the time Hypno was done, it was still standing, but had little energy. Hypno simply threw his pendulum and gave Bellsprout a blow to the head. It fell, tired and nearly fainted. Hypno did too, exhausted from his draining energy.

"Go, pokéball!" Theo yelled as he threw a spare pokéball. It spun in the air and hit the Bellsprout on the vine, causing the pokéball to activate and suck Bellsprout in. It shook once...twice...three times, before a high pitched ping sounded. Theo ran to his newly acquired pokémon and held it up to the sky. "I caught my first pokémon. Alright!"

Tass walked from under the base of a tree, clapping his hands in a slow motion. "Congrats on your first capture. Bellsprout is very hard to beat because of its agility and flexibility. You got a good one there."

"Yeah. And now it's time to make another trip to the Pokémon Center."

It was mid afternoon when Theo and Tass got back to the _Indigo Plateau_. Theo's uncle met him at the dock that the ship was in. It seemed that his uncle had been busy, too. "That's right," he said. "I went to a company that sells Pokémon for businesses. I paid quite a sum of money for a Machoke in trade. And when I did complete the transaction, this is what I got." He held up his hands toward the side to reveal the same muscular four armed Pokémon Theo saw the previous day. "A Machamp."

His uncle had also explained that they would be leaving to deliver cargo to Cinnabar Island that day. So Theo had to say goodbye to a new friend. "See ya, Tass. It was nice knowing you, helping me to catch that Bellsprout and all."

"It was no problem. By the way, I figure that you might be needing this." He brought out a small book from out of his pocket and gave it to Theo. _A Guide To Pokémon Training_.

"Thanks Tass," Theo thanked as he shook his hand. "I'll see you around." Tass gave his goodbye as Theo turned to leave for the departing ship whose destination was Cinnabar Island.


	3. Flames Of Passion

**Pokémon 1600s**  
By BlastSage  
  
  
Chapter 3: Cinnabar Island - Flames of Passion  
  
Captain Rayford's hand clamped down on Theo's shoulder, startling him from his day dreaming. The captain leaned on the railing on the top deck, next to Theo. "I just hired a new crew member this afternoon that will be working for us from now on. I want you to come and meet him. He is bringing along someone else with him."

"I want to stay here for a few minutes more. But I will meet them in like, five minutes. Is that okay?"

"Fine by me, I guess, lad. Theo continued back to what he was doing as his uncle left, and let his mind wander back to the past few hours of his stay...

The ship had just arrived at Cinnabar Island after a slow day and a half at sea. It was a huge island surrounded by a wonderful beach. After he beach came the forests, which were closer to the center of the island. The seas surrounding Cinnabar were dotted with coral reefs that could be seen underwater; in it surged hundreds of aquatic animal species of all different colors, shapes, and sizes. But the most impressive thing about the island that caught Theo's eye was the huge volcano that inhabited the south portion of the island. It was a steep coned volcano that was still said to be active. But he didn't let that bother him one bit. A volcano was a volcano, and Cinnabar Island was just another island. Of course, he had know idea that visiting Cinnabar Island would not only affect the rest of his life, but the lives of all trainers to come.

Theo had to unload some cargo off the ship before he could do anything else, and thanks to Hypno's psychic abilities and Bellsprout's Wrap attacks, it had been done very quickly. Theo had been training Hypno and Bellsprout ever since they left Port Vermillion by permitting them battle occassionally. He had also been catching up on the book that Tass had given him before he left. He still had a few chapters to go, but he learned some of the basics of training. Anyway, Theo took his allowed his pokémon out of their Pokéballs as they did their usuall exploring by walking around.

"Man, this place is fantastic," Theo said in awe as he observed the people of the island gather around booths for games and entertainment. Singers, dancers, actors, aerialists, tumblers, clowns, and more entertainers of around the world lined the streets. Loud noises of children's laughter filled the air leaving a feeling of enjoyment. "We must have came in the middle of a festival." remarked Theo.

"No, Hyp hypno," Hypno agreed.

"Bell, bell bell sprout, bellsprout," Bellsprout added in, using a vine to point to an area at the farthest side of the street near the base of the volcano. Most of the attention of the people went to a Pokémon Battle tournament that was scheduled to begin in an hour. A scrawny guy was offering the sign-up sheets.

"Calling all trainers! If you want to prove that you are the best at training your Pokémon, than prove it at the Cinnabar Flame Festival Tournament to begin in one hour. Prizes offered at each advancing level. Sign up here!" Many people went up for it.

Theo knew he wasn't probably as advanced as some of the other trainers, or would hardly get far in the tournament, but he decided to give it a try anyway. But first he wanted to know if his Pokémon wanted to go for it. "Hey guys, do you want to enter that tournament? We can test your new abilities that you developed on ship. And my new knowledge from the guide." They both replied what he could translate as a yes, so he strode up to the sign up guy. "I would like to sign up for the tournament." he informed.

"Ok. I will need your name and your three Pokémon you will battle with."

"Three? You need three to enter?" Theo asked. His face fell as he turned toward his Pokémon. "It seems that we can't battle unless I capture another Pokémon."

"Bellsprout, sprout sprout, bellllsprout." Bellprout suggested. Bellsprout really wanted to battle with other Pokémon.

"Your right. Let's go get another member for the team." He turned backed to the man with the sign ups. "Sign me up. I'll be back in one hour. But first, do you know any locations on this island where I can catch a wild Pokémon, but not too strong, such as for beggining trainers?" The man gave Theo and his companions numerous locations of wild Pokémon sightings, and not long after, they headed straight for Cinnabar Island's lava pools.

Theo slowly trudged along the narrow trail that led through a dozen active lava pools, sweating and exhausted from the heat. Hypno and Bellsprout were in their Pokéballs, but Theo felt that the heat was so intense that it could probably permeate into the units. He was trying to be careful as to prevent himself from falling, with several minor "mishaps" of nearly falling in due to slight waves of fatigue from the heat. He had already wasted fifteen minutes of his limited time walking, and yet he still didn't see one single Pokémon. He wasn't getting the hang of this training stuff.

Theo checked the pocket watch that was given to him by his father years earlier. "Jeez, I only have forty-five minutes until showtime, and I still can't find a third Pokémon." he said to himself, lowering his head, cursing himself for doing something so foolish. He was about to give up and go back to the ship, forgetting about the tournament, when he heard a noise ahead of him. He looked at the direction that the sound had originated from, but nothing was there. "It must be the heat," he guessed. "I must be tired." He was about to leave when he heard it again. He looked again. Up ahead, a reddish-orange figure ablaze with flames galloped through the lava pools, leaving behind a trail of embers of light. It looked spectacular, almost running as if it were flying. It was the perfect pokémon to use in the match, Theo thought. He plucked one of his Pokéballs from his sack he carried. He knew which pokémon was which because he had marked them. "Bellsprout, attack that... Pokémon!"

"Bellsprout," Bellsprout said in a high-pitched voice as it immediately began to feel weak from the heat. It wavered a bit as it stumbled toward the Pokémon, which Theo had found out later was Growlithe.

Meanwhile, Growlithe quickly turned her head toward the sudden noise, and as soon as she saw the little Bellsprout coming, he gave a little snort and kicked the Bellsprout high into the air. Theo caught him just before he fell into a pool of molten rock. "You must get weak by the fire," he managed to figure out. He hadn't known that Pokémon had stregnths and weaknesses too. He made a mental note to himself to research it. "Get back in your Pokéball before you get in a worse situation." But Bellsprout didn't go back in. He jumped out of his trainer's hands and wobbled over to the Growlithe once again. Growlithe was annoyed by this as he started to prepare for another kick. But as Growlithe's paws smashed into Bellsprout, Bellsprout hit back by releasing a cloud of green dust to befall Growlithe. Theo called back Bellsprout just before he hit the ground.

Growlithe began to cough and stumbled; he began to look sick as Bellsprout's Poison Powder took effect. He glared at Theo for doing him harm as he reared his head back and spit out ember's of fire at the attacker. Theo started jumping around to dodge the flames. Growlithe began to laugh, but ceased it when he began to become dizzy and disoriented.

"Don't worry, I'll..." Theo began to feel light-headed and dizzy, just like Growlithe, even though he wasn't hit by Bellsprout's attack. "...get you back to health as soon as I capture you. Hypno, go!" Hypno appeared, and as soon as it saw his friend in trouble, he rushed right over to help. But Theo ignored this action and gave orders to his Pokémon. "Hypno, Headbutt and..." Theo sighed as he thought hard about another attack. "...and then use your Pound attack." Hypno had his doubts on whether to stay or go and fight, but after a harsh look from Theo, he began to advance toward Growlithe.

Growlithe tried to Ember the charging Hypno, but failed miserably with puffs of smoke. The poison coursing through his veins took effect fast, and he was about to fall when Hypno smashed into him, causing him to fall to the other side. Hypno then jumped onto his back and rebounded into the air, slamming his pendulum onto his opponent's head. Growlithe's HP started to fall to zero rapidly.

"Pokéball, go..." Theo put in alot of energy to throw the Pokéball, just before he fell to his knees, the heat of lava getting him to the near point of passing out. He watched in dreary eyes as a race developed between the Pokéball and the falling HP. At 5 feet away, the HP was at 10. At 4 feet...7 HP...3 feet...5 HP...2 feet...2 HP...1 foot...1 HP...

The Pokéball hit and imprisoned the Growlithe into the ball. It didn't even shake, just sounded the ping of a capture. "I caught another Pokémon..." Theo said slowly as the liquid fire finally took his toll on him. He passed out, not even bothering to recall his Hypno or his Growlithe's Pokéball.

"Hey, he's moving. I think he's coming around. Ponyta, get some water, quick!"

"Wha-where am I? Why am I here?" Theo managed to say as he woke up to the blurry world around him. He tried to get up, but failed when his head began to throb. Headache.

"Don't move," a voice, a female voice, requested. "Try to get some more rest. You'll need it for what happened to you. You're lucky you didn't die of a heat stroke or dehydration. That area works quite well and quickly to kill."

"Who are you?" Theo whispered as his vision cleared. In front of him, he saw a a girl, not much older than he was, with hair as red as fire that curled past her shoulders. She had sapphire blue eyes that had a saddened look in them. She had a soft complexion, almost glowing.

"My name is Cyndai. Cyndai Trouleway. You're just outside tha village, at my home. As for why you are here, well, your Hypno brought me to help you. I discovered you lying there next to a lava pool. A few inches closer and you wouldn't be here." She stopped just as her Ponyta had trotted in with a bucket of water without fear of its weakness. She took a pewter cup and filled it with water. She then handed it to Theo. "Here, drink the water. It will make you feel better."

Theo took it blandly and drank all of it with one gulp. It really did make him feel better. "Thanks." He said as he put down the cup. That was when he remembered about why he was there at the lava pools in the first place. "Oh god, the tournament! How long was I unconscious? It couldn't of been that much time. I still have time to enter."

"The Flame Festival tournament? That ended hours ago. If you signed up for it, you missed it now."

Ponyta's ears suddenly stiffened as if it had heard a noise outside. She started to signal Cyndai, as if telling her of danger.

"Oh no," Cyndai gasped. "My father is coming! Quick, uh-what's your name anyway?"

"Theo Rayford."

"Well then, Theo, hide under these sheets. Otherwise you'll regret you didn't." She took a handful of old blankets covered with dust and put them over Theo until he was hidden from Cyndai's father. Then she went outside to meet her father. Theo listened closely to the conversation.

"Father! I didn't expect you home so soon! I was-"

Cyndai's father cut her off. "Get your things," he demanded in a loud voice, almost yelling. "We're leaving this island immediately for a new job I just obtained." He set his eyes down upon the pony Pokémon that stood behind Cyndai. "And set that Ponyta free, too. You won't be bringing her with you."

"But Ponyta is my friend! I have t-" Cyndai defended.

"LISTEN AND OBEY TO WHAT I SAY!" screamed her father. "THAT PONYTA IS NOT COMING! DO YOU UNDERSTAND!"

"But-" Cyndai never got to finish her sentence as Theo could here skin meeting skin. Her father had just smacked his daughter. He couldn't stand for that type of behavior.

"Leave her alone!" Theo commanded as he ran out of the house and stood between Cyndai and her father. He glanced over at Cyndai, who was rubbing a red mark on her cheek. Ponyta nudged her trainer, trying to comfort her, and gave Theo a concerned look.

Mr. Trouleway had an enraged look on his narrow shaped face, so angry that his face turned beet red. "Cyndai, who is this?" he said in a low,silky voice, trying to keep his anger under control in the presence of a third person, even though his voice was quaking. Theo noticed him clenching his shaking fists to prevent from hitting him. Yet.

"I'm Theo Rayford, and I won't permit you to treat your daughter like this." Sure, he acted brave on the outside, but on the inside he thought "_I know I'm dead. I am definetly dead._" Instead, Mr. Trouleway just glared at the two teenagers, then walked away, steaming mad.

"That was close," exhaled Theo as he turned to help Cyndai. "Excuse me for saying this, but your father has a temperamental problem."

Cyndai's eyes briefly teared at the question, but blinked them away. She didn't accept his help, but responded to his comment. "He wasn't always like that. He used to be the kindest man on the island. Used to be. He changed after my mother passed away a few years ago. He takes all the anger and frustration and grief all out on me." She reached beside her and petted her Pokémon on the head. "I think it might be best if you leave, Theo." she deliberated.

"I think you're right," he agreed as he got his stuff collected. Five minutes later, he was ready to get back to the ship, with more than enough light to find his way. He began to walk down the hill toward the sea, not turning around to see Cyndai waving goodbye.

And that was his day on Cinnabar Island. And all he had to show for it was his new Ponyta. No prizes, no tournament, and as he thought it strange of just thinking about it: no Cyndai. And as he thought about it some more, he realized that he was going to miss Cyndai, even though he spent such little time with her.

"Time to stop daydreaming and get on with your life," he said to himself. He got up and followed his uncle's voice toward his location. The vioce led up the stairs to the highest part of the ship, where it was joined by another vioce. A familiar voice. "_Mr. Trouleway's?_" he thought as he climbed the stairs. No, otherwise Cyndai would be there, too-"

Cyndai looked straight at the dark-hairedboy who appeared just then. She gasped. "Theo?"

"Cyndai?"

Mr. Trouleway just sneered at Theo secretly, while Captain Rayford looked surprised. "You know eachother?"

"Yes, just this afternoon," responed Cyndai. So since there were no needs for introductions, Captain Rayford began to show Mr. Trouleway the ship, while Cyndai talked with Theo. She looked down at the ground, and then into his face. She slightly blushed, and even in the dark, Theo noticed it. "Thanks for helping me to keep Growlithe," she said in a low voice as she brung out a Pokéball that Theo had left there for her.

"It was no problem." He replied, also beginning to blush. "Anyway, since you will be staying for quite a while, how about I show you around the ship, too."

"I would like that, thanks," she replied as the two headed below deck.


End file.
